The purpose of this patent application is to demonstrate a very practical, well balanced, toy-like in appearance but serious and professional, medical examination hammer as used by physicians specially neurologists. A neurologist will generally check with the same tool the deep tendon reflexes of the patient and the plantar responses (the "Babinski reflex") so his hammer has to have a good swing and balance (by having a long and light handle and a relatively heavy rubber head) and a sharp point to check for "Babinskies". Often the surgical-looking tool will scare young or apprehensive patients, so a colorful and toy-like appearance will made the examination easier for many patients. After checking the Achilles reflex and the plantar response the physician may try to help his patient with his shoes and having a handy shoehorn then and there would be most helpful, so in this invention this physician has shaped the end of the handle as a shoehorn for that very purpose, leaving the sharp point at the opposite end beyond the hammer's head (which consists of a solid rubber ball pierced by the pointy handle). The ball is provided in bright and attractive colors and renders itself as an appropriate surface to carry a printed logo or a pharmaceutical/promotional/gift advertisement. The spatula-like shoehorn end also allows similar markings.
Review of existing art work reveals many different reflex hammers, all esentially having a handle or a stem and a rubber head or just a T-shape where the rubber is only at the tips of the cross-bar. Medical hammers used in the US have a triangular, axe-like rubber head and a 7"-8" chromed metal handle. They are compact and easily carried in a coat pocket but are poorly balanced due to their small dimension and overly light head; the result is a clumsy swing and ineffective "hammer action". Some of these hammers, with roughly the same size especially supplied as gift packs or as part or a travel case, contain a length-wise parted handle so the hammer doubles as a tunning fork. Others add to this idea a turning pinwheel (for sensory testing), and others, by making the stem semi-hollow add a testing pin and a fine brush. Again, all these hammers with a variable number of gadgets added, perform poorly as hammers (which ironically was their primary use) as they have no good swing due to lack of dimensions and proper distribution of weight. Often their rubber tips are too small or too hard and the result is that they actually hurt the patient when used.
The reflex "English hammer" is in a class apart as it is long enough, has a light plastic handle and a wheel-with-a-rubber-tire as a head so it has a perfect swing and action. It lacks, however of the conveniences and inoffensive appearance of the hammer proposed in this invention.
This inventor-physician strongly believes that his herein proposed Shoehorn Medical Reflex Hammer is substantially different from all those available and that beyond being a hammer with head and handle as all the others, that it differs from them not just in design and cosmetic appearance, but in its purpose, function and practicality.